Scott gives Australia its first Masters champion

Updated 10:55 am, Monday, April 15, 2013

An Aussie rules at the Masters for the first time as Adam Scott, left, joins the exclusive fraternity Bubba Watson crashed in 2012.

An Aussie rules at the Masters for the first time as Adam Scott, left, joins the exclusive fraternity Bubba Watson crashed in 2012.

Photo: David Cannon, Staff

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Angel Cabrera catches his putter after narrowly missing a birdie putt on the second playoff hole.

Angel Cabrera catches his putter after narrowly missing a birdie putt on the second playoff hole.

Photo: Andrew Redington, Staff

Scott gives Australia its first Masters champion

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AUGUSTA, Ga. - Adam Scott was a golf-loving teenager in April 1996, when Greg Norman infamously wilted in the final round at Augusta National and broke a country's heart.

So when Scott's birdie putt on the 72nd hole Sunday slid into the cup, he joyously shouted, "C'mon, Aussie!" Soon thereafter, when he made another clutch birdie putt to finally give Australia its first Masters champion, he thrust his arms skyward - and far away, in a distant land where it already was Monday morning, Australians rejoiced.

Look closer, and Scott's riveting rain-soaked victory, in a playoff over Angel Cabrera, resonated on many levels. It was a triumph of perseverance, punctuating Scott's comeback from a miserable 2009 season in which Norman launched his revival by selecting him to play in the Presidents Cup at San Francisco.

This also avenged some painful major memories. Scott nearly won the Masters two years ago, eclipsed only by Charl Schwartzel's late flurry of birdies, and he gave away last year's British Open by making bogey on each of his final four holes at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, ushering Ernie Els to victory.

And yes, Sunday's win struck another blow in golf's lingering long-putter saga. Scott, 32, resurrected his career by switching to the long putter, which soon could be banned. He became the fourth player in the past six majors to win with such a contraption.

A win for Australia

Most of all, though, Scott's breakthrough resonated in Australia, a sports-obsessed nation yearning to see one of its own wearing a green jacket. Scott couldn't stop smiling as he strolled into the interview room and sat alongside Masters media committee chairman Craig Heatley, a New Zealander.

"I'm a proud Australian, and I'm hoping this sits well back home," Scott said.

Then he turned to Heatley, sitting next to him, and added with a smile, "Even in New Zealand."

Scott prevailed on a gray, gloomy day at Augusta. Drizzle fell throughout the afternoon, softening the greens and confounding players accustomed to quick putts the previous three days.

By the time Scott and Cabrera led a furious charge for home, joined in the hunt by Scott's fellow Australian Jason Day, the rain had become steady. Scott and Cabrera weathered the soggy conditions to play extraordinary golf and offer a fitting end to a compelling week.

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Top finishers

Pos. Player To par

1 Adam Scott* -9

2 Angel Cabrera -9

3 Jason Day -7

4 Tiger Woods -5

4 Marc Leishman -5

*-Won on second hole of playoff.

Masters sudden-death playoffs

Year Winner Loser(s) Holes

2013 Adam Scott Angel Cabrera 2

2012 Bubba Watson Louis Oosthuizen 2

2009 Angel Cabrera Kenny Perry 2 Chad Campbell

2005 Tiger Woods Chris DiMarco 1

2003 Mike Weir Len Mattiace 1

1990 Nick Faldo Raymond Floyd 2

1989 Nick Faldo Scott Hoch 2

1987 Larry Mize Seve Ballesteros 2 Greg Norman

1982 Craig Stadler Dan Pohl 1

1979 Fuzzy Zoeller Ed Sneed 2 Tom Watson

The shadow of Norman, once the world's No. 1 golfer and an enduring symbol of Masters frustration, was hard to ignore. Norman has long served as a mentor to Scott, to the point of choosing him as a captain's pick for the '09 Presidents Cup, even after one of Scott's worst years on the PGA Tour.

"Greg inspired a nation of golfers," Scott said. "He was an icon in Australia. Part of this is for him, because he's given me so much time and inspiration and belief. I drew on that a lot today."

Scott, after reaching No. 3 in the world ranking in 2008, lost his game the next year. He tied for second in Honolulu in January and didn't post a top-30 finish the rest of the year, but his path to redemption began when Norman brought him to San Francisco.

Then, wielding his broomstick putter, he stood on the brink of his first major championship last July. Scott handled his collapse with grace, choosing to find hope in a demoralizing turn of events.

"It proved to me I could win a major," Scott said.

He could, and he did. Scott shot 33 on the back nine of Sunday's final round, allowing him to chase down Cabrera. They got an assist from Day, who led by one stroke with three holes left but made costly bogeys on Nos. 16 and 17.

Scott, playing one group ahead of Cabrera, sank a 25-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to potentially win the tournament. Cabrera promptly followed with a fabulous approach shot to 4 feet, setting up his own 72nd-hole birdie.

Caddie comes in handy

It was terrific theater, two players trading blows on a grand, soggy stage.

"I didn't know if it was going to happen at times today, but a good back nine here solves a lot," Scott said.

On the second playoff hole (No. 10), after Cabrera missed his birdie putt by inches, Scott surveyed his 15-footer in the gathering darkness. He struggled to read the line, so he summoned caddie Steve Williams - who accompanied Tiger Woods on three of his Masters wins - and Williams convinced him the putt broke significantly.

Scott trusted Williams' guidance and watched the ball tumble into the hole. Then Scott accepted a warm hug and some kind words from Cabrera, a onetime Presidents Cup teammate.

"I told Adam that I was happy for him and he deserved it," said Cabrera, who lives near Redstone Golf Club part of the year and is coached by Houstonian Charlie Epps.

Scott had time for one more warm hug - from his father, a club pro back home in Australia. Phil Scott coached Adam until age 19 and stood by his side in July, when the British Open went so terribly wrong.

This time, the elder Scott turned to his son on a rainy night in Georgia and said simply, "It doesn't get any better than this."